Sunday, 11 June 2017

E3 2017: EA's Conference [Events]

EA really hit it out with Star Wars this year. Everything else was within fourty minutes at the start. So before we get into the main event of Star Wars Battlefront 2, let's run down everything else.
Battlefield 1 gets new content in the form of In the Name of Tsar. This expansion is adding six new maps, focusing on the eastern battles of Russia. FIFA and Madden get shown with a focus on eSports after.
Need For Speed Payback gets gameplay, and it honestly looks like an upgraded Hot Pursuit. Driving and taking others out to reach the mission objective, and swapping to another car due to story points. It looks great, though feels as though it lingers a bit too long on vehicles during a takeout at the minute. It certainly looks good.
A new EA Originals game - A Way Out - is a co-op adventure that's locked into splitscreen. If one person is in a cutscene, the other can still play. There's going to be a lot of gameplay elements involved, and the story should be strong. Madden was shown again, with screens from Microsoft's Scorpio. The reason for the talk is a BioWare game built for Scorpio. Anthem. A teaser gives an idea of what to expect, but the full reveal will be at Microsoft's conference.
NBA Live 18 talks about The One. Playing on the Streets or the League will build your rep and your skills, enabling you to unlock new gear. It feels fully connected, so there should be a lot to get into with this one.

And now... the main event. It felt as though it was building to this moment, even if there was still a lot of talking. Star Wars Battlefront 2. The voice of Iden Versio takes to the stage to recap on things we know of. Skirmish returns, multiplayer and single player are big focuses, and the game itself will be three times the content of the first. John Boyega shows his face in a video to announce the first free content update will focus on The Last Jedi, with both Finn and Phasma being added. A video is shown with devs and players talking about how the game is being built to be better, and we follow into a gameplay trailer. Then, this is the first gameplay of Battlefront 2, showcasing the Assault of Theed.
Clone vs Droids. The Republic are defending in this mode, needing to take out an MTT that the CIS are driving to the palace gates. We see the improved gunplay, the improved flight controls. There's showing the vehicles in play. And not a single token on the map in sight. Extra units are available through battle points, that you earn throughout the battle. Each time you are killed the points you got are added to the total, and on the spawn screen there is a list of available extra units. These are the vehicles, special classes, and heroes.
The droids manage to defend the MTT, and it blows the palace gates open. Now the second phase begins inside the palace itself, with vehicles not allowed. This brings more special classes and heroes into play, and we see Darth Maul tear down clones, with Boba Fett covering fire. The normal classes come into their own here, as heavy classes cover doorways while officers help buff their units. Jet-troopers come into action, using the jump packs of the first game to traverse wide gaps. Rey gets into the action, striking against Maul.
The entire game certainly feels as though it has been worked to make the best experience possible, and it looks a whole lot better than the first game. While we've yet to see the deeper customisation of abilities and classes, what has been shown has certainly proven they have listened. It's a bit of a shame multi-seat vehicles aren't around, but the fact those vehicles are as diverse in their weapon options as the soldier classes is a plus.

EA know their sports games will sell, and it really did feel as though Battlefront 2 was the big event. It was even said at the beginning that Battlefront will have a full half hour dedicated to it. As such, everything else felt more like teasers. Even Need For Speed. If I had to guess, I'd say EA are really wanting to prove they can do justice to the Star Wars license.